Collateral Damages
by spacey2450
Summary: This story takes place right after the winter soldier. A story that tries to answer some of the questions of Steve's past and looking at his future. Humor, violence and Steve getting some. Featuring Steve, Bucky, Sam, Nick Fury, Tony Stark and Thor.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: It's a long one so bear with me. I loved the winter soldier, but it was a totally different tone from all the other marvel movies. It was very dark, and in this story I wanted to not only take it back to the humourous side, but expand on that. I wanted to create a female character that can answer some of the questions. What did Erskine mean when he said "power of the Gods." Was it literal or figurative? I also wanted that female to not only be Steve's match in power and strength of character, but the COMPLETE opposite of him. I wanted her to frustrate, and confound him and drive him bat shit crazy. So I was sitting here thinking who could be that person. I could totally make someone up, or I could grab a historical figure. Then I thought about Hydra. Where does that name come from? Greek mythology, so why not grab a mythical Greek Goddess and throw her into the mix. It would be a perfect fit. A goddess can't die, so why couldn't she have been mixed into Steve's timeline all along and never have aged a day. Why couldn't she have been a catalist back then to what's happening now? Great, but which goddess? Well, Steve's a champion against injustice. He hates bullies and fights for humanity. He's a champion. So who was the greek goddess of champions...now I had my character. If you're still with me after that, then please, read on and let me know what you think of this story with your reviews.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of any of these characters, this is just a fantasy that my fingers decided to type out on their own.

**Collateral Damages**

Chapter 1

He sneaked quietly down the corridor. When he came to the t section he paused. He used his heightened hearing to listen around the corner for any sound of movement before he poked his head around. All clear. According to the map of the comlex he had memorized, the door to the room he needed was straight ahead on his right. He paused again, pressed his ear to the door and listened. He shorted out the the keypad lock and manually slid the door open. He slid it back and turned to survey the dimly lit room.

The room was comprised of a long conference table with chairs surrounding it. One wall was a giant piece of glass that made up the computer monitor. He spied the control panel in the center of the conference table and made his way towards it.

"Well, well, well. WHOM do we have here?" Purred a woman's voice from the shadows.

Steve whirled around and assumed a defensive posture as the sound of heels clicked slowly towards him.

"I was wondering when you'd pop up. Granted, I didn't figure that we'd meet here, but, fate works in mysterious ways doesn't it."

He eyed the brunette as she pulled out a chair and sat in it; folding her hands on the table in front of her. He had to get rid of her. Neutralize her so that he could get the information that he needed and get the hell out of there before he was detected.

"At ease, Captain, I know why you're here and I know what you're after. In fact, what you want is yours for the taking, all you need to do is ask me nicely." She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's good to see you again, Rogers. I had to admit I've been a little worried about you since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Steve frowned, sure this was a trap. Sure that she was delaying him until a capture team came for him, and he was positive he had never seen this woman before in his life.

As if reading his mind she smiled again and said "But of course you don't recognize me like this. When you saw me last, I looked more like..." she raised a hand above her head and snapped her fingers. "This!"

Instantly the brunette in the black pinstripe suit was gone. In her place was sat a shorter woman, with blond curls to her shoulders, big blue eyes and a 40's era WAC uniform.

Steve's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Lorraine?" he asked incredulously.

"Ta da" she cried softly with a flourish of her hands.

"You hauled me behind a bookcase and kissed me, the last time we met."

She smiled and stood. As she walked toward him she changed back to the statuesque brunette with the deep brown eyes and the pinstripe suit.

"I've kissed a lot of men in my time, Captain. Don't worry, you're safe from me." She stopped less than a foot away from him and gave him the once over with her eyes. "For now, besides," she said, looking around the room and gesturing. "No bookcases."

"Who are you...really?"

"Now there's the million dollar question! By now you've seen things that other men would believe to be myths...fairytales..." She walked around him and he turned wearily, still unsure if this was a delaying tactic on her part. "Just know that Thor and Loki are not the only Gods to walk this earth. As I said Captain, I have the information that you want," she reached behind her and pulled out a file folder out from the rear waistband of her skirt. She slapped it down on the table. She gestured towards a chair in front of it. Steve ignored the chair and reached for the file instead. As his hand closed around the folder, her hand slammed down on it and Steve whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing as he met her stealy brown eyes. "BUT..." she said, keeping her hand on the folder; "it goes much deeper and farther back than you can imagine."

Steve said nothing, his hand still clutching one corner of the file. She let her hand up off of it, and pulled out a chair to sit again; she rested her elbows on the arms of the chair and folded her hands across her midsection.

He stood there staring silently at her, his ears listening intently for some movement, some sound to alert him this was a trap, but he heard nothing.

"Who are you?" he asked her again.

She sighed. "Where I come from, names..." she paused, "TRUE names," she corrected herself. "Have power. The power to summon, the power to control. The few that know my name dare not speak it. However," she continued, "In this incarnation, the name I use is Holly St. John."

"Holly?" Steve asked his eyebrows raising.

She smiled again, "I like Christmas." She shrugged her shoulders. "There a problem with that?"

Steve decided to let her challenge pass. By now he had released his hold on the file and was standing over her with his hands on his belt. "What did you mean, this," he gestured towards the folder on the table, "goes deeper than I can imagine."

She used her foot to angle the chair next to her away from the table and roll it towards him. He caught it with his right hand but remained standing. She sighed again, closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. "Sibling rivalry is a real bitch, Rogers." Her voice had lost the soft playful edge. Now it sounded tired and hollow to Steve's ears. "Cain and Abel, Thor and Loki...and my brother and I. Every single one of us cause major problems for the human race whenever we get a stick up our asses against one another."

Steve finally sat in the seat that he had been holding and rolled it closer to the table. At the sound she opened her eyes, but kept her head back against the seat. The eyes had lost the mischevious glint and now look tired. Dark circles that hadn't been there before were now visible. She looked like she aged 10 years in a matter of seconds.

"Hydra is not the beginning, Rogers. It's the end. The end of milleneas of bad blood between my brother and I. Both of us named Gods of War. Both of us facing off again and again with massive armies at our backs, each of us fighting for what we believe is best for humanity. Until now, I though I had been winning. I thought perhaps, it was finally over. " She closed her eyes again. "I should have known better, because it appears I was wrong."

Steve frowned down towards his lap. Running what she said through his mind again. "Gods of war," he repeated to himself softly. He looked up, understanding now who and what she was.

"You're Greek?"

And wan smiled appeared on her lips. "Originally, yes. Although the Romans seemed awful fond of me for a thousand years or so."

"So your real name is..."

She moved too fast for Steve. Before he could even react she had shot forward in her chair and her left arm was snaking towards him. As he started to bring his right arm up to counter her he realized that she wasn't attacking him. Her left had was covering his mouth and her right index finger was inches away from his face. Her eyes were burning in her face as she glared at him.

"What did I say!" She hissed. "True names have power! NEVER...EVER... say my real name! Do you understand! Only Gods dare to call out my name!"

Steve had never seen anyone move too fast for him since he took the serum. But his mind pulled together quickly. Anyone that could move that fast could make quick work of him, if they chose to. Her eyes were boring holes into him and the anger was radiating off her body, and yet the only thing she did was to clamp her hand over his mouth. Realizing that she wasn't out to hurt him, he tried to force down the rush of adrenalin in his body that her action had conjured. He nodded once under her hand.

She released the hold and stood, kicking the chair away from her. She crossed hers arms over her chest and took a few steps away from him, her back towards him. She took a deep breath, then another.

"I have certain suspiscions that my brother," she half turned her head and spat the next few words back to him, "Who shall also go UNNAMED, is the true head of Hydra."

"And what makes you think that."

"Think about it... HYDRA! Think that name was pulled out of someone's ass?"

"The nine headed serpent from Greek mythology."

"Also one of the tasks that Heracles completed with MY help. I was the one who told him how to keep new heads from sprouting. I suspect that the name Hydra was purposefully chosen as a challenge to me. To bait me."

"That's speculation. Do you have proof?"

"Yes and no." She turned back to him and reached into her suit jacket. She pulled out a USB drive and tossed it to him. A few months ago intel came to me about an arms manufacturer by the name of LANCE SPEAR." she said the last words with emphasis. She shook her head as Steve turned the USB over in his hands. "Ari..."she stopped, took a breath and tried again. "My BROTHER always thought himself so clever. The problem is, he's not half as smart as a retarded lizard. That name stuck out like he had a neon arrow pointed directly at him."

"This LANCE SPEAR," she continued, "seems to have had an unfortunate amount of arms shipments highjacked within the last few years. Weapons that are turning up the hands of dickless despots anxious to mark out their territory. So I dug further. I found ties to other companies. Going back generations. Most of them dummy corporations, until one certain company popped up."

She reached into the other side of her jacket and brought out a sheaf of papers, that were yellowed with time. She tossed them in front of Steve for him to see. "It's a biomedical company that seemed to sprout up in the 30's. And there were two names that particularly caught my attention."

Steve took the papers and quickly scanned the first few pages. It looked like an order manifest. Then he saw it. The names she was referring to. The order had been placed by Johann Schmidt, to be delivered to...

"Zola." Steve said aloud.

"Bingo".

"So where do you come in on all of this?"

"Where I always come in. Pitted against Ar..." she halted and pressed her lips together pausing a moment before correcting herself. "Lance...and as it seems increasingly apparent... Hydra. Right now Captain, we have a common goal. We both want to crush Hydra once and for all. My reasons vary from yours, of course; but I could help you acheive the other thing you want."

"Which is?" he asked wearily.

She reached over and dragged the file over to her. She flipped open the flap and pulled out an old black and white picture of James Buchanan Barnes and slid it towards him. "I can help him."

He picked it up and stared at the smiling face that had been haunting his nightmares lately. "How?"

"They thought they could wipe his mind clean. Make him into an ultimate killing machine. A man without a past and without a conscience. But they didn't understand that it's impossible. The mind is too resilient. Most minds," she correct quickly. "They may have locked his memories away, not wiped them out. I believe he's still in there."

He placed the picture back on the table and watched as she pulled the chair back and sat down. She stared at the table top, lips pressed together. "But there's a catch, right?"

Holly took a deep breath and continued, "They've been shunting him in and out of cryo for years. Probably trying to wipe his memory every time. The memories could be fractured, displaced, some possibly gone forever. I've been able to repair damage before. Amnesia, brainwashing... I go in, help them pull their mind back together and get out. This... is different."

She glanced down at the picture before looking back up and meeting Steve's guarded face. "Damage to the mind on this scale is...troubling. If he's regained any memories they'd be jumbled. It would cause him deep frustration, possibly rage. He'd be trying to figure out who he is and what happened to him, and the missing pieces could drive him to insanity. It'd be an ardous process, and if he fights me there could be...complications."

"Have you had complications before?"

She darted her eyes away to the left. "Once".

A growing unease spread through his abdomen. "What happened?"

Her knuckles were now white from how hard she was grasping her hands in her lap. She cut her eyes back to him and replied."Cult brainwashing. Convinced this girl she was something she wasn't. I went in and no matter what I showed her or how hard I tried to convince her of the lies she had been fed, she refused to believe the truth. Refused to hear that she was anything other than who the cult told her she was. In the end it was too much for her. She fractured permantly. Totally insane. Catatonic. No hope."

"You can hunt him down, try to help him. Try to convince him of who he is, who he was," she shook her head. "But I honestly think it would do more harm then good."

"And the price of your help?"

"A favor."

"What type of favor?" Steve's eyes narrowed, he was on the defesive again.

She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. She closed her eyes and started massaging her temples. "I don't know," she replied tiredly. "This...ALL this..." she flicked a hand towards the USB, papers and file laying on the table next to her before returning her hand to her head. "Is too new. I've been blindsided. I had thought it was over. I had honestly thought..." her voice trailed off and she sat there silently for a few seconds. She suddenly straightened and turned her chair towards him.

"When I get this sorted, and figure out my plan of action and what I need from you, I'll cash in the favor. Any time, any place, I ask and you do. No questions asked."

"That's kind of a one sided deal, isn't it?"

"Is it really, Captain? I'm giving you a chance to get your friend back, to save him, for the price of owing me a favor. Tell me Rogers, how much would you give up for him?"

"Everything," Steve replied without hesitation.

"Then do we have an agreement?" She asked, leaning forward slightly.

Steve sighed. "What do I need to do, sign a contract in blood?"

Holly tsked, "No need for dramatics Rogers, I'm not the devil! A handshake will do fine." She extended her hand to him but yanked it away quickly when he started to reach for it. "Glove off, Captain."

Steve silently withdrew his hand and yanked off the glove, re-offering her his hand. She slid her fingers across his palm. Her thumb nestled between his thumb and index finger but the pads of her fingers pressed against his wrist. He felt a heat between their hands before it slid backwards to encircle his wrist. She withdrew her hand and he looked at his still extended arm. He felt a warmth, like a band of energy, around his right wrist but couldn't see anything there.

"What did you do?" he asked worriedly, frowning up at her.

"It's a bond. You fulfill the agreement and it goes away. Poof" she snapped her fingers.

"And if I don't?"

"Then that little band of energy travels up your arm, across your chest, and will pop your heart like a zit."

His eyes widened in shock and she reached over to pat his cheek. "Nothing to worry about, just hold up your end of the bargain and you'll be fine." She stood up and tugged the suit jacket down as she cast a glance over her shoulder at the door behind her.

"We should probably get going right about now." She started walking briskly towards the other end of the table.

"Why?" Steve asked as he stood and started collecting everything on the table.

"Here's the thing," she replied pulling a chair away from the table. "This isn't really my office, this isn't even my building," she said as she kneeled on the table facing him.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Steve as he hurried down the table to where she was.

"Yeah," she said with a sheepish smile, "See I broke in here, like, 20 minutes before you did, and managed to grab a hold of that file you've got there. I was on my way out when you stumbled in here. There's a security team on the other side of that door that's been trying to get in here for the past 10 minutes. I was holding them back just fine, but when you almost said my name, I lost my concentration. They're pretty close to getting in, so we should beat it the hell out of here. She was standing on the table pulling off the cover for the ventilation shaft. "You have great timing by the way. You saved me a bunch of time trying to track you down."

Steve's face started to turn red. He couldn't believe this. "You lied to me!" He spat out, incredulously.

She looked down at him, a look of shock on her face which was quickly replaced with indignation as she crounched down to meet him at eye level. "I NEVER lied to you!" She exclaimed hotly. "Tell me how I lied to you!" She challenged, "tell me when I said this was MY office, MY file. Tell me when I said I had anything to do with any of THIS!" She flung her arm out to gesture to their surroundings.

Steve opened his mouth to argue but realized she was right. She hadn't lied. She hadn't said any of those things. He had just assumed. _And when you assume..._ he thought silently. "Well then you tricked me!"

Her expression turned dark. "I have every intention of upholding my end of our deal CAPTAIN. I didn't force you to make a deal with me. I didn't grab your hand against your will and bond you. YOU made that decision on your own. And for the record, calling a goddess a liar and a cheat doesn't bode well for a human's life span."

She was right again. He had made the bargain willingly. Technically she hadn't done any of the things that he had just accused her of, but somehow he felt deceived...and duped; and taking in the hurt expression on her face at his accusations he suddenly felt like a gigantic ass.

"I'm sorry."

She narrowed her eyes. "You SHOULD be!"

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Both their heads whirled towards the door. The battering ram that the security team was using was causing the metal door to buckle. In one fluid move Steve was on the table. As Holly straightened up, Steve grabbed her around the thighs.

"Hey!" she protested. "I don't need your help!"

"Just go!" he grunted as he thrust her up into the shaft. He bent to grab the ventilation cover and as he stood again he found himself face to upside down face with Holly.

"Just so you know," she grinned. "You should get used to this kind of shit from me, it's kind of a common occurance."

Steve's eyes narrowed again. "You sure you're not the devil?"

BANG. BANG. The metal was groaning now as the door started to cave. Holly reached down and grabbed the back of Steve's belt.

"Time to go!" she exclaimed as she yanked him upwards toward her.

CRASH!

The door flew inwards. As the securtiy team swarmed into the room, the metal shaft cover slid silently in place. The men swept the room as Holly and Steve held their breath in the shaft, waiting.

"Clear." called out one voice.

"The building is on lock down. No one couldn't have gotten out." claimed a second voice. "Sweep the building."

The men filed out and Steve and Holly simultaneously let out the breaths they had been holding.

"You know the way out of here?" he whispered.

"Of course. I got in, didn't I?" She whispered back. "We follow this to the roof."

"and do you have a plan to get us off the roof ?"

She pursed her lips for a second darting her eyes to the left. "No. But I'm great at improvising."

"Great," he grumbled as she started to crawl down the shaft. "Our getting off a 40 story building hinges on your ability to improvise."

"You have a better plan?" she shot over her shoulder.

"I DID. But someone kept me talking in a room until a security team ended up trapping me in a ventilation shaft."

"For the record I broke in without alerting security. That was all you, on that front." She stopped at a t section and flipped onto her back. "I hope you're good in tight spaces," she said as she wriggled her body into an upwards shaft.

"Can you make a little more noise? I don't think they heard you on the 15th floor."

"Shut up and climb," came the muffled reply.

Steve flipped onto his back as well as was about to crawl up after her when he realized he was looking right up her skirt. He snapped his head back down to look down the shaft they had just come from. She shifted her position and looked down at him. He was just laying there, looking from the direction they came.

"What's wrong?" she asked urgently.

"Nothing."

"Then what the hell are you doing?" she hissed at him.

"Waiting." He mumbled, his face starting to turn red.

"For what? A bus?"

"You're wearing a skirt."

"SO?"

He didn't reply, his gaze was averted, jaw clenched.

Then it finally dawned on her. "Oh for Christs' sake Rogers, you think you're the first guy to see up my skirt. We don't have time for modesty. Just get the fuck up here!"

He ground his teeth and finally pulled himself up into the shaft, but he didn't lift his gaze higher than eye level as he quickly followed her. When Holly reached the roof she kicked out the shaft cover and swung herself out. By the time Steve had crawled out, she was standing at the edge of the roof. When he joined her she spoke.

"No fire escape, building are too far off to make a jump to them, and there's no window washer cart. I don't have any ropes so we can't repel down."

"How'd YOU get up here?"

"I didn't. I walked in there during business hours." She gestured with her hand down her torso. "Hence the suit."

"So what's your great improvised plan?" He asked sarcastically, cross his arms and staring down at her.

"We jump."

"You just said the other buildings are too far."

"They are. We're jumping to the ground."

Steve's mouth dropped in shock. "We're 50 stories up and that's pavement down there!"

"Yeah, what's your point?" She was squinting, looking straight down. Her head moving in first one direction, then the other. She finally stuck a finger in her mouth and extended it into the air. Her eyes closed but lips moving silently.

"You're certifiable," he stated. "You are 100 percent insane, you know that. I just made a deal with a crazy person," he said; shaking his head.

She snapped her eyes open. As she turned to look at him they were illuminated with a wierd, almost manic light in them. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Hell no, I don't trust you," he stated, backing up a step.

"Perfect," she said as a smile lit up her face. Before he could react her arm shot out and grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt. "Bombs away!" she shouted as she pulled them over the side.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam Wilson sat in his car in the parking garage across from the building Steve Rogers had disappeared into half an hour ago. He was drumming his fingers on his steering wheel, each minute that passed causing more and more anxiety.

They had agreed on radio silence, but it had been 30 minutes and there was still no sign of Steve. As Sam stared straight ahead he noticed lights flood one entire floor. Then another, and another. A dark and empty building shouldn't appear to be coming to life at this time of night.

A cold dagger of fear for his friend shot through him. Something must have gone very, very wrong. As he started to lift his wrist to his mouth to contact Steve he saw two people plummeting off the building. In a flash he was out of his car and hanging onto the guard rail surrounding the structure. He watched in horror as the man and woman streaked down towards the ground below. "SHIT!" he exclaimed.

He could do nothing but watch as the woman managed to grab hold of a flag pole extending from the side of the building. Her arm reached out and managed to grab a hold of the man's arm. They were dangling there, and Sam almost collapsed with relieve, when he saw the duo jerk downwards. He realized the flag pole was about to snap. He ran towards the stairs, knowing that by the time he reached the street it would probably already be too late to do anything.

* * *

One minute Steve was falling, assessing how and if he could take the fall and the next, he felt a hand grab his wrist and his arm was jerked upwards. His fingers automatically closed around a wrist as tight as he could. He heard a grunt and looked up. Holly was hanging onto a flag pole with one arm. Her lips pressed tightly together. He heard a pop and her eyes winced shut. She muttered something he couldn't hear and grimaced.

"Now what!" he shouted up to her.

She opened her eyes and started scanning the ground beneath them. They were still about 15 stories above the ground. "Give me a minute!" She demanded through clenched teeth.

The flag pole creaked and they dropped about an inch. She threw her head up and saw the pole was coming loose from the building.

"We don't have a minute!" Steve shouted again.

Holly searched the ground frantically as the pole bent a fraction more. Then she saw it. With a groan she started to swing the arm holding Steve. His eyes opened wide. "What the hell are you doing," he demanded.

"Splashdown," she grunted through her teeth.

"Splashdown?" Steve echoed.

"See you on the ground, Rogers," she said. With one last outward swing she released his arm and sent him plunging back towards the earth.

For a moment Steve was in shock, he then turned his attention back to the ground and saw what she had meant by splashdown. He had a fraction of a second to brace for impact before he landed in the fountain with a gigantic splash. The fountain wasn't deep and he had been coming in at an angle. He crashed feet first and slid forward. There was a jarring pain through his legs. He grimaced for a moment and then broke the surface of the water. As he did a wave of water broke over his head as Holly splashed down next to him and started to slide past him.

On pure reflex he shot his hand out and managed to grab a hold of her jacket front. He pulled her upwards and heard her gasp as soon as her head came up.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed as she pulled herself up on shaky legs. Her long dark hair had come out of the updo it had been in and was hanging over her face. She pushed it up out of her face and Steve saw a huge grin on her face. "Now THAT," she stated as she unbottoned her suit jacket and started to remove it, "is how you make an exit!"

Steve averted his eyes when her jacket came off, as he realized all she had on under it was a bra. He tried to reign in the anger that was starting to bubble up inside him. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself up. "So that's what you call a good time?" He huffed.

"No," she answered calmly as she was wringing out her suit jacket. "my idea of a good time usually involves a Navy SEAL, a pair of handcuffs and a bottle of Jack. How 'bout you."

She was goading him and he knew it. He shot her a dirty look as she shrugged back into her jacket and she shot him a dazzling smile. He heard someone coming towards them at a run and he turned, ready for a fight.

"Shit, I thought you two were goners," Sam said breathlessly as he ran towards the fountain.

Steve's posture relaxed a bit at the sight of his friend. "Join the club," he replied.

Sam looked past Steve to the woman who was now twisting her long hair around and wringing the water out of it. He gave her the once over and a smile spread across his face.

"Ma'am," he said with a little salute.

"Sir," she replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder and flashing him a smile in return.

"Do you need some help getting out of that fountain?" Sam asked coming around to her side, holding out his hand.

Before she could reply Steve picked her up around the waist and deposited her on the ground next to Sam.

She whirled around, eyes flashing. "I told you before," she snapped as Steve climbed out to stand next to her. "I don't need your help!"

"You're welcome." Steve said coldly.

As she opened her mouth, Sam jumped in quickly to defuse the situation. "Sam Wilson," he said silkily, as he extended his hand to her; neatly inserting it between the two.

She stared down at Sam's hand for a second before taking it and turning to Sam with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Holly St. John."

"So," Sam released her hand and placed his hands on his hips. "You have plans for tonight Miss St. John? I mean besides using a skyscraper as a diving board?"

She cut her eyes to Steve, who was standing as still and upright as a piece of marble. His face was an unreadable mask but she could feel the irritation radiating off him. She annoyed him, and for some perverse reason she found that highly amusing. A slow smile slid across her face. "No," she replied turning back to Sam, the smile at full megawatt power. "I have nothing else on my schedule tonight. The question is, are you going my way, Sam? I could use a ride. And you don't have to call me Miss St. John" she purred. "You can call me anything you want," she flirted

Steve's expression grew dark. She kept her eyes on Sam, but she could feel Steve seething. Sam's smile had grown from ear to ear. "The car is parked this way." Sam gestured towards the parking garage and they started off in that direction.

Steve hesitated for a second and then taking two quick steps he caught Sam by the arm and pulled him back. "Seriously?" he whispered, tilting his head to gesture to Holly's retreating form.

"Heeey, Cap. It ain't everyday a beautiful woman drops from the sky," Sam said with a wide smile. He slapped a hand on Steve's shoulder. "I take that as a sign." He slid his arm off Steve and headed after Holly, jogging slightly to catch up to her.

Steve stood there for a beat longer, his hands curling into fists by his side, before swearing under his breath and following the other two into the garage.

* * *

A short time later they were motoring down the highway towards Sam's place. Steve was sitting in the passenger seat, reading the file Holly had given him. He had expected it to be a copy of what he had received from Natasha, but to his surprise it wasn't. The pages inside were handwritten and in German.

These were Zola's own notations...of all the experimentation they had done on Bucky. But the handwriting was faded and hard to read, and the lighting in the car was dim. He was making slow progress.

Holly's head popped up between the two men as she leaned forward from her seat in the back. "So.." she address Sam. "Military huh?"

He frowned and shot her a quick look before turning back to the road. "How..." he started.

"You saluted me and called me ma'am, not implosible but usually civvies don't do that. I know my military men. It's kinda my THING." She interrupted. "Buuuut..." she inhailed deeply, "you're not currently in, I don't think. Body language is wrong for someone who's always waiting for the next deployment order. Let's see... You're not army. You didn't hold yourself the right way for army. Hmmmm."

He turned to meet her eyes but she was giving his body the up and down. He turned back to the road as she said "Not a Marine either." She put a hand on his right bicep and gave a squeeze. "Good guns, but they're not quite tight enough." She gave another squeeze to his bicep before she took her hand away and leaned closer to Steve's seat.

Steve felt the heat rolling off her body and shifted closer to the door to keep his distance from her. Her eyes darted a quick look in that direction as she tried to surpress a smile.

"I'm guessing you were a pilot. So either Air Force or Navy." she shifted back slightly in Sam's direction.

"And these," she laid her hand on Sam's thigh and gave a squeeze. His lips pressed together, and his eyebrows shot up. She felt his thigh muscle spasm under her grip before she loosened her hold. "Those are definetly not sea legs."

"How can you be sure?" Sam was fighting to hold back a smile and was starting to lose. Holly's hand slid up his thigh to his hip before she removed it completly.

"Because I know sea men when I see it."

Sam gave a snort of surprise, trying very hard to focus on the road. He was shaking with laughter and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Steve shift in his seat again, still not looking up from the file.

"Soooo... Must be Air force. Nice to see you didn't let too much rust collect there."

"You two should get a room." Steve muttered angrily.

Holly whipped her head around, but Steve still wouldn't look up. "Maybe we will," she cooed as she pressed her chin on his shoulder. "care to join us and make it a threesome."

Steve jerked his shoulder away and slammed the folder closed. He turned his body to face her. He shot her a look that could melt steel and a flush was creeping up his neck. "No!" he growled out, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned back in his seat to stare angrily out the windshield.

She shrugged. "Your loss then." She turned to see Sam looking at her with raised eyebrows. He looked over at Steve then back at her, another grin starting to spread across his face as he turned back to the road. He knew what she doing. He also knew he shouldn't find this as funny as he did, but he couldn't help it.

Holly tossed herself backwards into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes met Sam's in the rear view mirror and she winked at him. The smile was still on his face as he shook his head and concentrated on changing lanes to swing off the highway.

* * *

Holly strolled out of Sam's bathroom. Her long wet hair woven into a braid that cascaded over her left shoulder, soaking the t-shirt Sam had given to her earlier.

Steve, who had already showered and changed into jeans and a tee, was on the couch, hunched over Sam's laptop that was perched on the coffee table. The USB that she had given him earlier was flashing in the drive and he was scrolling through the information on it. Sam was sitting at the dining table reading through the file on Bucky, but since he didn't read German he wasn't getting much from it. He looked up and pushed the file to the side as she padded into the room in her bare feet.

He sat back and smiled. "Why is it you look better in my clothes than I do?"

She gave him a tired smile and answered. "It happens."

"Drink?"

"Whatcha got?"

Sam got up and crossed to his fridge, he opened the door and was about to fire off what he had when he felt her behind him; peering over him into the fridge. He looked over his shoulder at her with a questioning glance.

"Milk."

"Milk?" He took the container out and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. "Funny, you don't really strike me as a milk person." He poured out the liquid and slid the glass over to her.

She reached out and picked it up, she turned and headed over to the table. "It wouldn't be the first time my appearance differs from what's underneath." She sat down and shifted to the right so she could fold her left leg under her. "It's how we roll where I'm from."

Sam closed the fridge door and headed back to his seat. "Yeah, I heard about that, " he said as he sat down.

She lifted an eyebrow. "I'm sure that's not all you heard."

If Steve had heard her, he made no indication. He just kept his head down, continually scrolling through the computer.

Sam squinted at her. He pointed a finger first at her, then at Steve. He dropped his head down and raised his eyebrows.

She frowned, not sure what he was trying to communicate.

Sam tilted his head to the side once, then twice and opened his eyes wide, giving her a pointed look.

Her frown smoothed out and her eyes opened wide as she got what he was trying to indicate. Her expression dropped into a look of surprise. She pointed first to herself, then curled her hand into a fist and gestured with her thumb towards Steve. She rolled her eyes, then jerked her head back, turned it the side and held up both her hands, palms facing Sam.

"Are you two done talking about me yet?' Steve asked from the couch.

They both looked over, but Steve was still focused on the computer screen. "Nope," she shot back. "We need another minute or two."

Steve sighed and shifted backwards on the couch, pulling the computer into his lap and putting his legs up on the coffee table.

Sam and Holly looked at each, smiling. Suddenly she extended her left arm across the table, elbow resting on the wood, palm up. "Give me your hand," she said.

Steve dropped his head onto the back of the sofa and looked over at them for the first time. "Don't do it, man." He said, rolling his head slightly side to side. "Biggest mistake you'll ever make."

Sam turned from Steve back to her. She smiled and wiggled her fingers. "C'mon I won't bite. Unless you're into that sort of thing."

Sam flashed her a full toothed smile as slid his right hand towards her. Steve sighed again and turned back to the computer shaking his head. "Glutton for punishment," he muttered.

She took hold of Sam's hand and pulled it towards her, rising slightly from her chair and leaning over the table. She transferred his hand to rest in her right hand and used her left to flex his fingers down. "Interesting," she mumbled as she turned his hand slightly to the right.

"What is?"

"This," she ran her index finger along a line the curved down the palm around his thumb. "That's your life line. Looks like no matter what shit storm is coming down the pike, you'll be fine." She shot him a coy look from under her lashes. "Probably."

"Good to know," he replied with a smile.

"This," she ran her thumb lightly across the middle of his palm. "Is the line for your head. It's a deep groove. Which indicates you're very intelligent." She darted a look up at him and winked again.

"And THIS one," she ran the nail on her pinkie very softly along the very top line in his palm. "That's your heart line," she said softly. "And any lines leading off it indicates how many loves you'll have." She tilted her head to the side and turned his hand towards the light to get a better look. "Hmmmm, quite the heartbreaker Mr. Wilson."

Sam laughed as she released his hand and leaned back. "Yeah, well. It's kind of hard to find the right one when you're one the move so much."

Her smile faded and she took a sip from her glass, her eyes peering at him over the rim. "Yeah," she replied quietly as she placed the glass down on the table top. "It is."

He sensed the shift in mood. "How 'bout you?" he asked, watching her reaction intently. "You ever been in love."

"Once." she said with a rueful smile and a small shake of her head. "My line of work doesn't exactly foster long term relationships you know? One minute your making eyes at one another and the next he's marching off to some battle call and coming back in a box."

She sensed rather than saw that Steve was holding himself still now.

She shifted to the right again and pulled her leg out from under her. Leaning forward she crossed her arms on the table, her hands resting lightly on her biceps. Her eyes darted up to meet Sam's. By now all the merriment that had been in her eyes was long gone. There was a far off look in them, as if she were lost in the memory.

"I had heard of man. Rumors mostly, of someone who was attempting what should NOT have been attempted. So I tracked him down. Snuck into his lab one night and started reading his work. The leaps that his mind was making...it was incredible! I had never seen a human that could grasp the...magnitude..." her voice trailed off.

Her eyes refocused on Sam. "He was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I was supposed to kill him. I had tried desperately for centuries to stop anyone and everyone from coming even a FRACTION of an inch from where he already was. So I broke into his apartment. I held my gun to his temple. But he didn't beg me not to kill him. He didn't ask me for mercy. Didn't try to convince me of the nobility or the vastnest of his research. He looked me right in the eye and told me he knew why I was there, and that he understood why I had to kill him. Looked me dead in the eye and gave me PERMISSION to kill him and destroy his life's work."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking," he added quickly.

She shook her head again. "He asked for my help. He told me he didn't care if he had to die, but his family...He asked me to save his family. They were being held captive. If I were to kill him and destroy his work, his family would die also. I couldn't do it. Couldn't kill him. He wasn't like the others that I had come across. He wasn't trying to take over the world, he just wanted to keep his family alive. So... in the end, I offered to help him. I offered him a deal. I told him who I was, and I told him I needed another champion. One who couldn't be corrupted by wealth or power. One who would always fight against injustice. The world was getting to be too much for me to handle alone. So I told him I would save his family and in exchange, he would find me the perfect champion, and I would give him the means to get to that final stage he was looking to acheive."

"So, I left him. I left him with the power of the Gods, and went to save his family." She looked past Sam to a point on the wall, a frown creasing her forehead. "I tried. I tried to keep my promise; but I got there too late. His family had all died in an epidemic that had broken out where they were being held. I came back, and I had to tell him I failed. I had to tell him I hadn't kept my promise. He told me it was not my fault. Never felt that way though. So I orchastrated his escape, got him to America, and told him since I hadn't kept up my end, he was free of both myself and the deal we had made. But he wouldn't hear it. He told me I was right. That we had to finish this. For the next two years we worked side by side, every day and one day I walked in and looked at him and I just..." she inhailed deeply. "I knew I didn't want there to be a day when I didn't see his face, or hear his voice.

"Did he love you back?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, good Lord, he had lost his entire family and I felt responsible. The last thing I was going to do was say 'Hey sorry about your wife and kids, but check it out. Consolation prize.' Then I got an urgent message. I had to leave him. I had to try to cut off the enemy from grabbing a strategic weapon. I left immedietly. I thought he'd be ...he shouldn't have..." she paused, trying to find the right words. "I wasn't there when I should have been, if I had..." She drew back in her chair, shoulders hunched, arms tight across her chest.

A look of sympathy flashed across Sam's face. "He died," he concluded quietly.

Her eyes dropped back to the table top. She was silent for a few seconds before her hand reached out and grabbed her glass off the table. She drained it in two gulps and stood. "Yeah," she replied, a crack in her voice. "He died."

She walked over to the sink, ran water into the glass and put it down, but she didn't turn. Her hands gripping the side of the counter were white knuckled and her head hanging down. Steve took his feet down from the coffee table and leaned forward. Quietly sliding the computer onto the table and then resting his elbows on his knees as he turned to regard her.

He had heard the pain in her voice. It was a pain he knew too well. To have love ripped away from you. To feel cheated. To do the right thing at the cost of everyone you loved. This he understood and it was the first time he felt any sort of common ground with her. His eyes locked with Sam's for a moment before his gaze flicked back to Holly.

"Sooooo" Sam drew out his word awkwardly. "What's the plan of action."

There was a beat of silence before Steve stood and walked to the table. "You were right," he addressed Holly's back. "Everything I've seen on that drive screams of your brother being involved with Hydra."

Holly's head shot up and she ran her right hand down the side of her face before she turned. "Yeah, I know," she replied; her face now an unreadable mask. "That's why I need to go to Boston. That's where Spear Industries is located."

"You think your brother is going to have documentation about Hydra at his offices?" Steve asked with barely restrained skepticism.

"As I said before, he likes to think himself too smart to be caught. He's bragadocious and boastful, and never did learn the lesson that pride goeth before the fall. If there's even one little scrap of evidence anywhere. Then he's got it. Probably sitting right on his desk."

Steve shook his head. "I find that hard to believe."

"Believe whatever you want..." she said, heading back towards the bathroom, Steve following her. She ripped her suit jacket and skirt down from the shower curtain rod where it had been hanging. "It doesn't matter to me." She pushed past him and walked down the hall to Sam, who was now standing by his door. "I'm going to finish this once and for all, and to do that I need to go to Boston."

Steve grabbed her elbow and spun her around. "You aren't going alone." He stated.

"I don't..."

"Need my help," Steve interrupted. "Yeah you've said that before." He grabbed his jacket off the hook by the door and shrugged into it. "I'm going with you."

"Oh, no!"

"Look I'm not going to fight about this. If you go, then I go. WE," he emphasized, "are going!" He grabbed her arm and started to tug her roughly towards the door, but she dug her heels in and ripped her arm out of his grasp.

"I'm not going anywhere with you tonight."

"Holly," his voice warned her as he closed the distance she had put between them.

"It's 2 am now and it's a 7 hour drive to Boston. So we get there at 9 o'clock and just walk right in and snoop around?" Steve paused. "Excatly. Not exactly prime covert time, is it? Besides, I'm not going to Boston NOW! I'm going later!"

"Then where were you storming off to?"

"Firstly, I wasn't STORMING anywhere, I was going HOME. And secondly," in a flash she had pinned him up against the wall, his shirt balled in her right fist.

"Never put your hands on a goddess. If you EVER," she snarled, "put your hands on me like that again, I will rip them off! We clear?"

His eyes were ice daggers as he replied. "Crystal."

She released him and took two steps back. They stared each other down for a few seconds more before she turned away from him. "Sam," she said as she held out her hand to him. "It's been a pleasure, I'm sorry to have to leave like this."

He took her hand and raised it to his lips. "The pleasure was all mine. Do you need a ride home?" He asked as he opened the door for her.

"No," she replied, a weak smile cracking her face. "I'm good. I have my own set of wings." She stepped out on the porch and pulled on her shoes. "I'll make sure to bring the clothes back to you tomorrow."

"No hurry."

As she started down the stairs she heard Steve's quick tred behind her. She halted and he stopped beside her. "Now what are you doing?"

"Following you."

"You don't listen do you?"

"I listen just fine, I also know that if I let you out of my sight, you'll take off and leave me in your dust. You go, I go," he repeated.

She sighed wearily and turned to walk up the sidewalk. "I told you before Rogers, I'm going HOME; not to Boston."

"Fine," he challenged, following closely behind her. "Where should I meet you then?"

"Lincoln Memorial"

"What time?"

"Noon."

He stopped. "That's a lie. You rattled that off too quickly."

She whirled and marched back to him "What did I tell you about calling me a liar?'' She ground out. "I DON'T LIE!"

"Promise me," he replied quietly.

"Promise you?" she scoffed.

"That's the thing isn't it? It eats you up when you can't keep a promise. So promise me you won't go to Boston without me. Promise me that you will be at the Lincoln Memorial at noon and not leave without me. Look me right in the eye." He pointed to his face with his right index finger. "And tell me you will be waiting there."

She stared at him for a moment before answering, her tone steely. "At twelve oh one I leave. With or without you. So if you expect to acccompany me then I suggest you be on time." She whirled again and stalked away from him.

"You still didn't say you promise." He called out to her retreating form.

"I promise!" She yelled as she turned the corner.

Steve paused a beat then ran to the corner. He stopped at the corner of the building and pressed his back against it, hesitating before sliding to his left to chance a peek down the street she had just disappeared down. He couldn't see her. He turned fully onto the sidewalk and scurried over the the closest alley. Nothing. He looked across the street trying to catch glimpse of someone walking away... a shadow hiding between the cars... but there was nothing. She had disappeared into thin air.


End file.
